Bennett Tony "The Best Of Improv Recordings"

In the decade between the end of World War II and the advent of rock and roll, Tony Bennett emerged as one of the premier pop singers of his generation--the heir apparent to figures like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and other iconic balladeers whose versatile and engaging vocal styles had already translated to huge successes in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite his popularity in the post-war era, though, Bennett had grown restless by the 1970s. The time had come for him to explore something new--preferably on his own terms, and in an environment of his own making.

After more than 15 years on Columbia, Bennett struck out on his own and launched Improv Records, a label that lasted only a couple years but generated several recordings during the mid-1970s. Concord Records gathers 16 tracks from his brief period on Improv into a single collection, Tony Bennett: The Best of the Improv Recordings. The compilation--which is culled from the 4-CD boxed set, Tony Bennett: The Complete Improv Recordings--is released to celebrate Bennett’s 85th birthday.